HARPA 



Z/flwz.—Syst. des anim. sans vertebr. p. 79. 



■« » 



TESTA ovalis, ventricosa, spird brevi, anfractibus 

 lono itudiiialiter costatis : apertura oblonga, am- 

 pla, basi emarginata, vix in canalem producta : 

 Labium externum incrassatum revolutum ; in- 

 ternum expansum^ cokimeUam tegeus, basi acu- 

 minatum. 



Among the varied and numerosus testaceous inhabitants of 

 the ocean, the Harps claim a decided superiority in ele- 

 gance of form and beauty of colouring' ; the rarer sorts are 

 accordingly much esteemed by Collectors, particularly the 

 mani/ ridged Harp ( Buccinurn costatum, Linn.) which we 

 have chosen to represent as the type of the Genus : the 

 principal difference between it and the other Harps consists 

 m the greater number of longitudinal ridges which are 

 formed on its outer part. 



In their general form, the Harpce are oval and ven- 

 tricose ; their spire is short, and the volutions are rounded, 

 so that the spire has the appearance of several domes gra- 

 dually diminishing in size, surmounting each other. The 

 aperture is oblong, large, its base is notched, but scarcely 

 produced into the form of a canal, the outer lip is thickened 

 and turned outwards ; it is remarkable that the animal 

 inhabitant produces this thickened revolute lip at frequent 

 periods in its growth, forming a number of elevated ridges 

 on the outside : this character is not peculiar to the Harp ; 

 we find it more or less in many marine shells, and in a few 

 land species, but in none does the period at which it com- 

 pletes its mouth recur so frequently as in Harpa and 

 Scalaria. The inner, or columellar lip, is spread over a 

 portion of the last volution, and over the columella; at the 



